Flea circus tricks: Reviving a Victorian sideshow

Sandrine Ceurstemont, editor, New Scientist TV

Think fleas aren't capable of circus tricks? In Victorian London, they were the stars of a popular sideshow that could soon be resurrected in the UK.

Tim Cockerill from the University of Cambridge, who made this video, hopes to revive the act that declined with the advent of the vacuum cleaner - which decimated the flea supply. Now he typically gets hold of the insects from a hedgehog sanctuary. "Hedgehogs are famously infested, so the fleas are easy to get hold of, and they're quite strong," he says.

In this video, a flea twirls a ball, plays football, walks on a tightrope and even jumps through a hoop. To perform many of these tricks, a flea is typically yoked with a wire looped between its first and second set of legs. In some circuses, this tactic has enabled them to pull tiny chariots and fight tugs-of-war.

For more on flea acrobatics, check out our full-length feature, "Fleadom or death: Reviving the glorious flea circus".

If you enjoyed this post, watch the animal stars of the first colour films or see flies juggle in the first science movies.

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/275b0204/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Cnstv0C20A130C0A10Cflea0Ecircus0Etricks0Ereviving0Ea0Evictorian0Esideshow0Bhtml0Dcmpid0FRSS0QNSNS0Q20A120EGLOBAL0Qonline0Enews/story01.htm

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